3/30/2012

A nice example of springtime layering and colours - the boots with the flowing skirt (love the lenght!), the short jacket with a big, soft scarf, plus another layer peeking out. Yup, this just about solves my annual springtime dilemma of combining light, spring stuff with pieces that still keep me warm :-)

3/29/2012

The picture of her mum, Emília, sent by Patrícia S.: "In her youth, mum was know for her high hairdos that were so popular back then and until this day we don't understand how she achieved them. She says when she put her hair up in the morning, it lasted the whole day through and she didn't need to fix it through the day. Unfortunately neither me of my sister inherited her thick hair... The picture is one of many where she is in full gear, on a trip to Prag, in 1965."

This wonderful picture sent by Betka H.: "On it is my grandma Alžbeta (first on the right), recording songs for the Slovak Radio in the 70's. As a former opera singer, a teacher and director of the Arts school in Bratislava, her closet mostly consisted of elegant pieces that were made by her sister or herself - they inherited the craft of sewing from their father, who was a tailor. I am lucky that many pieces from her closet were well kept and since I keep the family tradition of adjusting clothes alive, some of them are now my favorite pieces."

3/25/2012

Just had a very lovely, sunny Saturday at Dobrý trh on Panenská street. All hats down and thumbs up to the organizers for creating a space and atmosphere that's been missing in Bratislava for a long time.Včera sme mali preveľmi príjemnú, slnečnú sobotu na Dobrom trhu na Panenskej. Všetky klobúky dole a palce hore pre organizátorov za to, že vytvorili priestor a atmosféru, ktorá tu dlho chýbala.

3/23/2012

I caught up with photographer Olja right before she was taking her bike to Modrofúz, to be pimped (that's why the "before" in the title of this post), so I am already looking forward to the "after" post. Olja bought her bike two years ago, from a third hand and uses it daily to push her daugher Lota to kindergarten in the morning and to move around town. As you can see, the girls love their dots (those sunglasses!) and shiny shoes and riding their bike and scooter together. More about Olja and her work for example here. Oh, and today is Olja's birthday, so all together now: Happy Birthday to youuu...

3/22/2012

One of my favorite Saturday's things to do is to brows around antique and flea markets, hunting for treasures. As much as I love the stuff, I just hate the haggling about the prize.... I am no good at it, they would sell me on a Turkish market in no time. And for pretty cheap. And you know what? I think the sellers can smell it from far away, they just look at me and know I am no heartless, tough dealer.
Once, while buying the vase on the right, at Vienna's Naschmarkt, I was soooo prepared to haggle, to make it look like I don't really care about the vase, that I didn't fall in love with its retro design and I could just walk away from it and they will be running after me and gladly accept my 3 Euros... until the seller pushed his little daughter in front of me, encouraging her "sweetie, now you go and try sell it to this lovely lady". Bastard (excuse my French), I was lost at that moment, happily paying the little girl the full prize. Oh well, at least she looked happy and proud :-)
On the picture a few treasures: the big old suitcase traveled with my uncle as he was studying at a Marine Academy in Odessa, the picture frame and set of yellow-gold cups is from Červený Kameň antique's market, the vase in the middle inherited by my dear grandma, the vase on the right from Vienna's Naschmarkt.
The dates of this year's markets at Červený Kameň here.

3/21/2012

First Bicycle story of this year, shot during the amazingly beautiful last weekend in Bratislava. I am glad we kicked it off with Tatiana, a young journalist, because I just love using the words smart and stylish in one sentence :-) Fun facts: everything on the picture is second hand: the bike (found on the internet, needed a little fixing), the trench, the bag, the scarf, the dress, yes, even those cute Oxfords (love the combination with the hot pink socks)! Have a wonderful beginning of Spring!

3/19/2012

Take a look inside of an old closet door in our apartment, the previous owner lady left us such a visual heritage. The way the apartment looks right now, you don't want to see, but I will keep you informed. So far the reconstruction is getting a bit complicated (oh, who am I kidding, it is just insane!), very conveniently right in the middle of a crazy working time, so it was unfortunately this blog that was left behind the last few days, together with my free time, sleep and life energy :-( I am sorry for that, dears, as a little compensation this week I will bring you two fresh Bicycle stories with two stylish and smart girls. There you go :-) And now a few discovered links:

3/13/2012

So one day while in Tel Aviv I took a walk around the old town of Jaffa, exploring the neighborhood, envying the antique goods at the local market (my luggage was waaaay overstuffed already), and continuously overdosing on the local frozen yogurt, when I bumped into this crammed little shoe workshop with the old shoe maker and his wife running it. I officially have a soft spot for local workshops and old masters of crafts, AND they had the exact kind of simple sandals from soft leather, that I was looking for, I couldn't resist :-) So while he was picking the right size and adjusting it straight on my feet, we talked and talked - about him having a local shoe factory just down the street, making shoes and accessories for movies and the Israeli Opera, about Baťa, about big factories taking over the handmade work, and about how he decided to retire to having a small workshop for local customers and the occasional tourists.
As a result, I walked away with a pair of (I believe) undestroyable traveling sandals. Can't wait for the summer to put them on and see where they will lead me :-) And if you happen to drop by the old little workshop, stop by to say Hello!

3/11/2012

Sometimes the simplest, most basic, good quality things are the hardest to find. Like good fitting jeans, the perfect shade of lipstick, or love, for that matter.... Anyway, that's why I had to find my new favorite leather sandals unexpectedly in a totally different country (no, I did not wear them yet, and nevertheless they are already my favorite. Don't tell me it never happens to you :-). Will tell you their story and show you the magic place tomorrow. Have a good start of the week!

This picture was sent by Zuzana F., on it is her mum's friend Soňa wearing a fur hat. No more details (I guess it was taken at the beginning of the 80's, my mum used to wear similar get ups :-), fur hats and embroidered vests), no big story, but I love the picture, it looks like a still from an old Slovak film, dark and mysterious with a beautiful woman and folklore details.

3/09/2012

1. "The secret to happiness is low expectations" (Barry Schwartz) Funnily, this quote from a TED talk seems to be matching this funny elevator painting I recently found, haha :-) More great quotes from the new quotes pages by TED.

Note: So let's make this weekend about love - for old furniture, photography, good talks, and love for the place you live and love. Please, go and vote, it is improtant! And have a lovely weekend! :-)Poznámka: Tak, a tento víkend bude o láske: k vtipným citátom a inšpiratívnym ľuďom, k starému nábytku, k fotografii, a k miestu, kde žijeme a ľúbime (sa). Túto sobotu sa volí, pridajte sa, je to dôležité! Pekný víkend prajem! :-)

3/08/2012

Wishing you a very patterned spring and summer from the Marni at H&M presentation! While crazy pattern mixing is an art I am only about to master (yeah, I wish! :-), I love the fact that there are many silk pieces in the collection, which is quite refreshing. Just saw my red headed friend Katarína try on a few pieces and all the colours look fantastic on red heads (also see picture below), hmmm... The collection hit the shops just-about-right-now, cheers to that!

3/07/2012

Welcome to Planet 220, the design galaxy of Misha Chmeličkova. Honestly, I have been wanting to photograph Misha for some time now and an occasion finally rose: her exhibiton (called Welcome to Planet 220, opening today, here). Misha is a graphic designer, illustrator and VJ, which I think is nicely reflected in her style as well: just love her simple, clean, but very graphic and playful pieces. And I love her funky work, specially the part with creating 3D space on walls - with the help of a tape and scissors. More about her and her work here, and you're welcome to Planet exhibition till the 8th of April! :-)

HELLO

Welcome to my visual diary. I believe that your way of taking the world in translates into what you're putting out - in the way you live, love, dress or walk. Thank you for letting me take notes and pictures.Love, Marika